The Kirkus Prize is one of the richest literary awards in the world, with a prize of $50,000 bestowed annually to authors of fiction, nonfiction and young readers’ literature. It was created to celebrate the 81 years of discerning, thoughtful criticism Kirkus Reviews has contributed to both the publishing industry and readers at large. Books that earned the Kirkus Star with publication dates between November 1, 2014, and October 31, 2015, are automatically nominated for the 2015 Kirkus Prize, and the winners will be selected on October 23, 2015, by an esteemed panel composed of nationally respected writers and highly regarded booksellers, librarians and Kirkus critics.

"An upbeat story with a moral about believing in yourself accompanied by fantastic illustrations—but told in stilted verse."

Get ready to race! Jungle animals, led by three delightfully illustrated animal children, are racing for the joy of it in this rhyming children's book debut by Rogers (Out of His Mouth!, 2012).
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"With a touch of sci-fi, this penultimate installation of a fantasy series delivers rich characters and complex plotlines."

In this second installment of O'Connor's (Silevethiel, 2013, etc.) YA fantasy series, a young man, fighting to save the world, is tested when an old adversary returns to wreak more destruction.
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"A welcome excursion for pop-sci fans, featuring a number of striking artworks."

In this diverse collectionof essays, short stories, illustrations, anecdotes, and other missives, Raham informs without being dry and teaches without being pedantic while covering a wide range of subjects in biology and the history of science.Read full book review >

Over the last few decades, Americans have turned college admissions into a terrifying and occasionally devastating process, preceded by test prep, tutors, all sorts of stratagems, all kinds of rankings, and a conviction among too many young people that their futures will be determined and their worth established by which schools say yes and which say no. In Where You Go Is Not Who You’ll Be, New York Times columnist Frank Bruni explains why, giving students and their parents a new perspective on this brutal, deeply flawed competition and a path out of the anxiety that it provokes. “Written in a lively style but carrying a wallop, this is a book that family and educators cannot afford to overlook as they try to navigate the treacherous waters of college admissions,” our reviewer writes.
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FEATURED WRITING/PUBLISHING AUTHOR

Fan fiction has become a true phenomenon. Websites such as fanfiction.net and Archive of Our Own boast millions of self-published stories, written by fans and set in the fictional worlds of book series such as Harry Potter and Twilight and TV series such as Star Trek, Supernatural, Teen Wolf ...

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